Life (2007–2009): Season 1, Episode 6 - Powerless - full transcript

Previously on "life"

a cop serving time?

They broke nearly
every bone in his back

Charlie saved my life in there

so, now, I handle his settlement money

you were in for a white collar crime?

Insider trading yeah

you've been
working the program, Dani

yeah
I've been working the program

do you want to know my name?

If I wanted to know your name,
I would have asked you for it



detective I have something
you might be interested in

the bank
of Los Angeles shoot-out

that was 15 years ago

you should ask your partner

what happened to all that money?

Listen up. This is the
"officer down" scenario.

Thanks to our
so-called consent decrease...

Some dirtbags out there
will shoot it out with us...

Because they think we can't
shoot back. Nobody wants it.

Mr. Detective.
Watching us do our homework?

Skipped a grade.
Got to requalify.

- You ain't running with us, are you?
- Thought I would. You mind?

No problem at all.
I ain't riding in the back, though.

You're riding in the back, juarez.



You know the perps riding back there.
All those fluids and stuff?

You're riding in the back, juarez.

Alright. Let's mount up.

The cool people
head west on Wilshire.

That's my stop.

Mine, too.

Mint?

Great minds think alike.

My name is Rick.
And I'm an alcoholic.

- Dani.
- Good to meet you, Dani.

Good to meet you, Rick.

Come on.
What's the deal? Let's go.

The "officer down" scenario,
juarez.

They've got
to shoot somebody first.

- You remember this?
- Yeah, I remember this.

- You two maybe want to get a room?
- Do you know what I remember most?

It smells like piss back here
and something else.

The boredom? The burritos?

Those stories, man. Your stories.

Hey, juarez. Bobby ever tell you
about his pet Turkey?

- Drowned in the rain.
- That Turkey was...

The world's dumbest bird.

Yuck it up, chuckle-heads.

That bird was dumb stupid.

He ever tell you about the bank
of Los Angeles shoot-out?

Yeah, only about a thousand times.
So many cops in the street...

All you could see was blue.
He fired his gun so many times...

The muzzle glowed red
from the heat.

- It was like a...
- Hurricane of bullets.

- And there he was...
- Right in the middle of it.

The streets were full
of blood and bullet casings.

Thirty eight minutes
in a non-stop free-fire zone.

Five dead, 18 million
in cash gone missing...

And you were right
there when it happened.

Yeah. I was right there
when it happened.

I was doing pretty good.

Then, I got to the end
of this rotten day, and...

Oh my god. She wants me
to submit her expense report.

I get a call from the babysitter that
says she has to go home early...

And where was my husband?

Yeah, he forgot to charge his cell.

You know how that is, right?

I wasn't going to make it. I asked
for strength against that wine.

This was just a situation.

But there's a way through it.
I'm seven months sober today.

They're free. The doughnuts.

I've seen you here before.
You're always in such a rush.

I'm Lou.
Why don't you stick around?

Yeah, thanks,
but I've got to get to work.

- I'm Rick.
- Hi, Rick.

And I am powerless.

I'm coming up on
a year of sobriety.

And I'm here to humbly ask you...

To help me.

Not the first time I've made it
to 12 months.

I'm not a good guy when I drink.

I've hurt people.

Women.

About a year ago, this month,
there was this...

One girl...

If I had been sober...

It got intense.

She could have made
a lot of trouble.

She took back what she...

I guess she realized
she shouldn't have pushed me.

I'm telling you this because you...

All of you here are my strength.

I've got to say hey to a friend
of mine. See you next week.

Hey.

You waited. Great.

Want to pick up where we left off?
Get to know each other?

You told quite a story in there.

And you didn't say a word.

What's with begging those people
to help you stay sober?

Boy.

Listen. I slipped.

And I needed to say so in there.

Is that so awful?

That stuff about hurting women...

That's over.

What happened, exactly?

Do you ever...

Have so much shame
about something...

That you can't even choke it out?

Dani, I know
you understand this.

Give me a chance.

Maybe another time.

Can I call you?

Tell me your last name, at least.

I'm a friend of bill.

Hey. How was your meeting?

Required by my employer.

Every moment you spend
wishing you were someplace else...

Is a moment you can't get back.

What about every moment I spend
wishing you were someplace else?

That would hurt my feelings
if I thought you meant it.

Besides...

Those meetings do a lot of good.
I've seen guys get sober...

Who were as self-aware
as this piece of fruit...

Although it's not entirely clear
how aware fruit is.

You know plants
recognize their relatives?

- Everything okay, there?
- I heard something.

I heard a guy confess to a rape.

He acted like he wanted
help staying sober, but...

- He was drinking before the meeting.
- You saw him drinking?

Which means you were in
a place where there was drinking?

- Like a bar?
- Focus on what I am actually saying.

Says he was hurtful to a woman
the last time he went out on a binge.

That was a year ago.
And he's drinking again.

- "Hurtful" can mean a lot of things.
- Yeah. But it means this thing.

He blamed the victim
for making him do it.

He said that he could get into
a lot of trouble for it.

And he stopped talking when he got
too close to saying what happened.

And he has a record.
I ran his plates.

Richard Larson. Misdemeanor sexual
assault conviction in 2002.

I bet it was a plea bargain.

You can't push a misdemeanor
to a felony just because...

- You don't like what somebody said.
- It's not about what I like.

- It's like circumstantial evidence.
- Is that what you think?

I'd like to welcome
members of the press...

To our fifth annual open house.

It is an honor to have you all here.

We have great progress
to report on community policing.

Compstat,
our computer statistics program...

Has reduced crime city-wide
by 15 percent this year.

- If you look here...
- Yeah, yeah, fine.

Great. I know that number.

Why aren't you people out
on the street?

Numbers don't stop crime.

What news
organization do you represent?

The people's news.
I'm the stickler.

And this is tonight's web cast
from the stickler.

LAPD shills

try again to trick us
with half-truths and lies

lies? Can we discuss
this after the meeting?

Get her on camera, bud.

Action.

- We'll need to discuss this later
- she's not kidding

- cut.
- No! Not cut! Action!

- Action.
- Somebody is trying...

To drive me out of my home.
There's a guy...

Who takes a dump on my lawn.
A couple of times a week...

For the past three months.
He's after me.

I will contact animal control.

- This is no dog.
- How do you know?

Dogs don't eat corn.

We have a task force that's set up
for just this sort of problem.

Nobody believes
in results without seeing any...

We will make sure you see results.

Lieutenant Davis and I
will take your case.

- Personally.
- Not one more word.

We vow that we will
catch your pooper.

And we will do it by the end
of the week.

Find me a report and I'll cover it
here in sex crimes.

I don't know if there is one.
I'm looking for the victim now.

They usually look for us.

If you saw a crime about
to happen, what would you do?

- But you said it already happened.
- Well, it's about to happen again.

This guy stood up in aa,
asked to be stopped...

I'll stop him.

How come you were at aa?

- It was drugs, not alcohol.
- It was a lot of things.

No open cases from last fall.

What about the dispatch reports?

Fall 2006.
Especially November.

We've got five, no,
ten thousand 911 calls.

Yeah. Okay. Here you go.

Dani, can we just have dinner
or something?

We didn't end right.

But it ended.

Please somebody has to pick me up
does it show my address?

- Are you injured?
- He locked me in my house

raped me he did things
did things to me

we're on our way
do you know your attacker?

Rick Larson
his name is Rick Larson

where's the arrest report?

There isn't one.
She withdrew the complaint.

You saw him drinking and you
think he might come after her again.

He might.
Or he's after somebody else.

I can't find Nancy,
but I can find Larson.

- Cash or credit?
- It will be, credit.

Card and ID, please.

You know what? Let's just,
let's just pay with cash.

- Are you a member of our book club?
- No.

Membership in our book club?
10% off today and 5% in the future.

- Just this book, please.
- Could I recommend other books...

- Like this book?
- Just this book, please.

Before we go on,
I first want to thank Lois...

For bringing those lemon squares.
Also... remember...

Next week there'll be
alternate side of the street parking.

That's that.
Anybody want to share?

Hi. I'm Charlie.
And I'm powerless.

Hate...

Is a prison.

Anger is the warden and...

Rage is the guard who takes
a piece of you every day.

You all know what it's like.
You fall, you hit the bottom...

The bottom breaks
you fall some more.

You get lost.

And now,
I tell myself, it is what it is.

And I'm doing my best.
I hope.

Thanks.

- What was that?
- The truth.

I know where you're coming from.
How hate is a prison?

- It's good to say it out loud.
- Well, it doesn't always help.

Ain't that right, brother?

I was afraid you wouldn't want
to talk to me.

No. No. It was my fault.

I came to make amends to you.

Why don't we all go out
for blended coffee drinks?

Dani and I actually have
a few things to talk about.

- Unless I'm intruding.
- No. You're not intruding.

So. Next time, Charlie,
I want to hear more.

Let me get my coat.

What are you doing?

If this guy is who you say he is...

I don't think you should deal
with him alone.

You don't know
what I can deal with.

- Okay.
- Ready?

Yeah.

Yesterday.
The story about the girl.

What did she do to you?

Some women make me so mad that...

That?

- Only when I'm drinking.
- You are drinking.

- You were at that bar.
- So were you.

You drink then you go to a meeting.

- You know what that is?
- It's a lie.

- It is living a lie.
- We're both liars.

It's the one thing I can
always be honest about. I am a liar.

- What can you be honest about?
- I was a social drinker.

I did a little blow.

My boyfriend dumped me.

I lost a job.

And then, I got it. You know?

It was time to clean up.

- That's the whole story?
- Yeah. That's the whole story.

- Something wrong?
- I don't think that's the whole story.

I know what you're doing.

You're messing with me.

You think you're different.

You're just like every other woman.

The only way to get Larson off
the street is if Nancy testifies.

Well, let's talk to her.

Well, we'd have to find her first.
Nancy wiscinski has vanished.

No obit, no missing person report...

No Jane Doe homicide
around that time...

And she moved after the rape,
but no forwarding address.

She's 22 years old.

Aren't they all on MySpace...

Or yourspace,
Facebook, faceplayce?

- How do you know about that?
- Everybody knows about that.

Don't you want a whole bunch
of new friends?

Don't you want them all
to know where you are all the time?

Where did you go? Come on.

Pardon my joining in",
but "in my humble opinion".

"No response necessary".

"Old man".

I im'ed a couple
of Nancy's girlfriends.

You know there's a whole new language
out there we don't know?

- So, you got nothing.
- Not from them.

But I found out that
Nancy's screen name was canceled.

- Great.
- Too bad people don't have GPS.

- Computers do.
- How does that work?

I find a friend in Internet crimes
who will run down the url.

If Nancy didn't ditch her computer,
it will take us right to her address.

I use my mom's maiden name, now.

Because you're afraid
Larson will find you?

No. I don't think about that.

It was just a way to move on.

It was nice of you to come by,
but I'd rather keep it in the past.

Well, we're here because
it won't stay in the past.

We think that your attacker is
about to go after someone else.

I can't help that.

I'm only asking you
to make a statement, Nancy.

Well, I don't want to.
I like where I am.

My job keeps me busy.
I like where I'm now.

Good job?

- What do you do?
- Nancy does my books.

So you work at home. Must be nice.

Work your own hours.

I like it.

- Do you?
- Very much.

Because it seems to me...

It seems a lot like
Larson committed the crime...

But you went to prison.

I'm right, aren't I?

The wrong person is doing the time.
Get the right person, you go free.

You don't understand.

It's his word against mine.

He's out there.

What if he found me like you did?

- What am I supposed to do?
- Testify.

Or wait until he dies.

That could be a long wait.

I'm sorry.

No eating in the car.

What? It's a stake-out.

No eating in the car.

- Don't let my husband eat in the car.
- You're married?

Why wouldn't I be married?
What did you think?

No! You don't wear a ring.

Want to tell stories?

- Do I want to tell stories?
- Yeah. It's a stake-out.

We can't eat junk food.
At least, let's swap stories.

You go first.

I'll go first. Okay.

Stake-out stories
usually revolve around women.

Okay. Who you would...
If you could... you know?

Or cars? Or sports? Like...

- "How about those Dodgers?"
- This what you and Reese talk about?

No. Mostly, we just talk
about how lucky we are...

To have you as a boss.

Back when I was a rookie...

All we ever used to talk about,
stuck in that car...

Was the bank of L.A. shoot-out.

That was all anybody talked about
in those days.

Yeah. Five perps dead.
Not one cop shot.

And all that cash gone.

18 million missing?
The sixth man?

I guess I just like conspiracies.

Conspiracies, detective, are
how bored people pass their time.

But come on...
If there was no sixth man...

- Then who took all the money?
- Someone got away with the cash.

- Where is the conspiracy in that?
- Whose side were they on?

Ours or theirs?

Like I said, conspiracies
are how bored people...

Pass their time.

I never got Halloween.

Dressing up and begging for candy.

I think it's supposed to be fun.

But why beg for candy when you can
just go out and buy what you want?

I think it's supposed to be fun.

Drop it.

Drop the gun.

Nancy?

You bastard.

- You have to die.
- Drop the gun.

Remember me? You see me?
You see what you did to me?

Nancy, drop the gun.

Drop the gun.

- What are you doing?
- What am I doing?

What are you doing?

- What did you think you were doing?
- I can't live until he dies.

You said I would stay
in prison until he was dead.

Yeah, but he didn't mean you
were supposed to kill the guy.

That's not what you meant.
Tell her.

- It's not what I meant.
- Testify against Larson.

I would lose.

The way he talks...

He knows things about people.

He said he was just like me.
That he used to drink...

And he could tell that
I was drinking a lot, too.

He swore he'd kill me if I told.

And now, I made him mad again.
What am I going to do?

- You'll press charges.
- I can't. I died that day.

You didn't die.
You survived what happened to you.

You lived through that,
and here you are.

Did you ever think you could
live through such a thing?

There's real violence
in the world, Nancy.

It never finds most people.

It found you.

But did you ever think...

You would have the strength
to survive what he did to you?

That's your secret, Nancy.
Larson doesn't know it.

Larson doesn't know
how strong you are.

Prison doesn't know
how strong he made you.

You said prison.

You mean Larson.

He means Larson is your prison.

I never did that.

I never did that, either.

I might have done that.

I guess I did that.

I definitely did that.

My god.

- Phone's disconnected.
- I called Larson's company.

He didn't show up today,
even though he had a big meeting.

I asked when he'd be in. The guy
said he wasn't holding his breath.

When Larson went
on that bender last year...

He went awol for a month.

How did you get him
to tell you all that on the phone?

Well I asked. And I waited.

People like to fill a void.

No one knows where he is, though.

There's a sundowner meeting at aa.

- I can ask there.
- You mean we can ask there.

No Crews. This part is mine. Okay?
If I find him, I'll call you.

I can't believe this. What?
You came here to spy on us, Dani?

- How could you?
- Lou, I came here...

Because I need to be here.

But right now, I need
to question Rick Larson...

About a rape.

I think you're wrong about Rick.

Well, if I'm wrong, then
he can clear it up, once I find him.

- Where is he?
- He hasn't called me.

Dani, he is doing great.

He's even sponsoring
a new member.

I need to talk to that person.

You know it wouldn't be right
for me to give you her name.

Dani, I don't know why you
came here to begin with...

But what you're doing right now,
seems very dangerous to me.

I haven't seen him. Did he say
he'd come? I know you're friends.

- We've talked.
- He's a great person to talk to, no?

I didn't know what would happen
to me here, and...

He could feel that.
Without me even saying, he knew.

It's kind of getting
to be about more than aa.

What do you mean?

I've got to go and change.

But I'll tell Rick that
you were looking for him.

- Are you meeting him?
- At hunk on Melrose.

I used to be afraid
to go where there's a bar.

But with him there,
I'll be fine. Bye.

The reason why the bank of L.A.
shoot-out is good stake-out talk...

Is that with so many cops on-scene,
there are so many different stories.

There aren't any different versions.
There is one version.

Really? Well, my old partner
Bobby's version was pretty intense.

The street in front of the bank
a sea of uniforms, all that noise...

How exactly would Stark
know about that?

He was there.
Right in the middle of it.

Stark told you he was
in the middle of it?

Yeah. Why?

- There's always that guy.
- Which guy is that?

The one who wants
to be there so badly...

He changes the story
to make it happen.

There were no uniforms in front
of the bank that day. At all.

But all those rounds fired?

Over 11 hundred rounds fired.
But they were all tactical.

Tactical?

SWAT was on
a training exercise one block over.

They were there first.
That's why no civilians were killed.

That's why no police were shot.
That's why we study it.

- But Bobby said...
- I don't know what he told you...

But if he was in uniform...

Which he was, he was working
the barricades, four blocks out.

Who is that?

Is that her cameraman?

You!
Why would you do this to me?

You order me around like a dog.

You treat everyone like a dog.

So, poo on you.

Lieutenant, I've got to go.

Buy me a drink. Unless
you're waiting for someone else.

Love the one you're with.

You know that old song?

- Are you happy to see me?
- I feel so happy.

How do you feel?

I feel like this.

- What's that?
- It's her badge.

You're under arrest
for the rape of Nancy wiscinski.

What? That's insane.
Let go of me.

- Everyone's watching.
- Why not?

It's a good show.

Stacey. It's a mistake.

My client is willing
to admit he knows the plaintiff.

They dated on and off before
what she calls a rape last year.

Why do you think
she is telling the truth?

I went out with that crazy girl.

I dumped her.
She kept calling me.

And I got loaded because
I felt guilty about her.

- Okay. I'll take it from here.
- No, no, no.

Don't. I want to say this.

After she called me,
like, 100 times...

I went over there.
Drunk. We had sex.

And then, I told her "you got
what you wanted so shove off". Okay?

You can get up
on that witness stand...

And tell them exactly what I said.

You said more than you think.

What is wrong with you?

What kind of a bitch shows up
where a guy's trying to get right...

And sets him up
to get shot at and thrown in jail?

You are not going to jail.
You're going home.

He's not admitting to anything
more than consensual sex.

And I'm pretty sure
that isn't a crime.

It is confusing.
What to do.

I say we let the jury sort it out.

Now, that's a good moment,
isn't it?

It's a very good moment.

Thank you both.

How's it going, Winston?

Ted?

This is a surprise.

No, it isn't.

A surprise is when you walk by a
bookstore window and see your face.

- I guess you read the book, huh?
- "Earley warning"?

"Inside the mind
of white collar trash"?

That last...
It was my publisher's idea.

You were my partner, Winston.
Everything I did, you did.

Yeah.
But you got caught.

What's with the mini-bat, Ted?

This?

Remember that baseball player
with the string of strip clubs?

He handed these out
when we took him public.

I learned something in prison,
Winston.

And I forgive you.

Trick-or-treat!

"Were on-line now"
LAPD try again

to trick us with half truths and lies

where's your partner?

- She took off for the night. Why?
- Larson made bail.

- When?
- A few hours ago.

I just got word.

Hi.

My name is Rick.

And I'm powerless.

You're drunk.

Yep. I am.

But tomorrow I'll be sober.

And you...

Well I don't know.

What's the plan?

I want to get to know you.

What? You think I want to rape you?
Is that what you think?

- You tell me.
- You are so cool!

And full of crap.

Drink it.

You drink it.

All of it.

And another one.

Come on. Drink.

Nancy says she's at her mother's.

I'll send a unit over to sit outside
just in case. Try Reese on her cell?

She just called me.

Get me dispatch.

Reese?

Reese?

You know what's wrong with you?

Other than the fact
that some scum bag

is sitting in my kitchen
with a gun to my head?

I know you've got
some piece of crap story to tell

keep it on. Let's go.

You won't tell it to anybody.

It's so precious and so special.

That's what you think, right?

Is that what you think?

- Sit down
- you don't get to call the shots

I call the shots

you're not drinking

- I'm done.
- You're done...

When I say you're done.

You're a big man
with your gun out.

Go on, Rick hit the jackpot

kill a cop
it will be better than drinking

better than forcing those girls
to do what you need

come on. Do it.

We can't get any line of sight
to the shooter.

They're still talking, though.

I got
the "officer needs assistance" call.

I thought you might want
some company on this one.

What is it you want to do, Rick?

- You want to know me?
- I do.

I do know you.

- You are in a world of pain.
- You don't know pain.

- Finish it.
- All of it?

Yeah. That's right.
All of it.

Okay.

Give me a moment.

- What?
- Just...

Give me a moment.

I can do what you want,
but I just

need for you to give me a moment
do you understand?

That's not for him.

That's for me.

She just needs a moment.
You want to help me give her one?

I don't know what that means.
But if you're going in, me too.

Okay. Moment's up. Drink.

You want to know me?

You never shot up in a room
where a guy blew his head off...

And you're thinking you're lucky...

Because he didn't get his brains
in your dope.

Or found yourself lying
in a pool of puke and crap...

Only you didn't care whose crap it
was as the whole time you think...

You were so sick
all you wanted was to get off

and get well
you knew that about me?

You think you hit bottom, Rick?

You have no idea how far
down this goes, do you?

You think you're bad?

You think you've got
a demon inside of you?

You don't even know
what that means.

You understand that, Rick?

Want to tell me again
about the bank of L.A., Bobby?

Like a hurricane of bullets.

Streets full of blood
and bullet casings...

- What was that?
- What was what?

18 million in cash gone missing.

And you were right there
when it happened?

Yeah. I was right there
when it happened.

Who is that?

Code four.
Suspect in custody.

Copy that

here. He's all yours.

- Hi. My name is Charlie.
- Say, "hi, Charlie".

Hate is a prison.
But you know what, Rick?

Prison is a prison, too.

You need some help.

Just make sure I don't fall.

All I needed was a moment.

That's...

That's zen. Isn't it, Crews?

Isn't it?

That's zen.

I've got it. I've got it.

Isn't it?

That day?

The bank of Los Angeles shoot-out?

I was on the barricades.

I was on the barricades.

Not tonight you weren't, Bobby.

Tonight, you were right
in the middle of it.

Hey.

I'm Dani.

And...

I'm powerless.